KH Vids Royale
by The Acolyte Cloud
Summary: KH Vids Royale is the story of 30 brave forum members of plunged into desperation and oblivion. That last part was a bit over dramatic, but nevertheless enjoy.
1. Introduction & Game Players

KH-Vids Royale

Written by Alex Trimmer

BR Logo Copyright Koushun Takami/WOWOW Entertainment Ltd.

KH-Vids Royale Logo made by Mari

**Boys** - Girls

**1 - Angel (1wingedangel)** 1 - Roxas-chan

**2 - Cin** 2 - Sara

**3 - General Grievous** 3 -Ris (Roxasishot)

**4 - Xehsin** 4 - Kairi (Kairi')

**5 - FF Fanatic** 5 - MistyMighty82

**6 - Boris the Blade** 6 - Reien

**7 - Arc** 7 - Element

**8 - Vivi (vivi's dark side)** 8 - Riku

**9 - Darkwatch** 9 - Claryssa

**10 - Shiomi** 10 - Mish

**11 - Roxas** 11 - Laydee (xLaydee)

**12 - Da Freak** 12 - KHAngel

**13 - Sora (Sora)** 13 - Xigbar (Freeshooter Xigbar)

**14 - zSoraz** 14 - Yukai

**15 - Xekvin** 15 - Live Forever (liveforever552)

"To walk into a place and feel tension in the air, to feel hatred and deception - that is the feeling of mistrust."

- Anonymous

"Guilt - that horrible feeling you get when you know in your heart that if you had tried, you could have done it."

- is a website that his been providing Kingdom Hearts cut scenes for almost a year now. This OBR is a collection of members of the forum, fighting for their lives. This takes place in a non-fictional location, Mackinac Island, which you can do a bit of research on to expand your horizons if you want a better grasp on the story.

You may, at times, find it awkward to read the names. These were the usernames of the forum members in the story (some have been changed to flow better).

This is my first complete OBR, and also my first complete full-length story. Enjoy.

FINAL MIX

Many members of KH-Vids have come and gone, and I'm sure a few of them barely took time to delve into the deep world of KH-Vids. Who knows what they would have found if they did. It could be anything, but it is in my hopes that they at some point stumbled across the mention of 'KH-Vids Royale,' 'Battle Royale,' or 'KHVR.' The preceding are a trio of very important things to me; and to some people on the forum they are a form of entertainment they would have expected not to find. All these members have come and gone, and yet many stay, and I'm glad they have. Most who stay have read at least a bit of KH-Vids Royale. Some in the story have probably never heard of it.

Even with a few setbacks, I am proud and honored to present you with KH-Vids Royale: Final Mix, the final edition of KHVR, edited, revised, and ready to be read by all the forum goers at is the way it was meant to be read. This is the way this inspiring fan-fiction was meant to be presented.

This is KH-Vids Royale.

- Alex Trimmer, 2-3-07

Introduction - KH-Vids Royale is the epic story of 30 members of KH-Vids pit against each other. As you read, you may find yourself rooting for your character. Whatever you do, no matter what you do, don't stop reading even when your character is 'out'. I'm sure you all want to find out who the winner is, anyway…


	2. 1

**1**

Arc (Boy No. 7, KH-Vids administrator, forum, put down his silver knife and fork and looked around the gigantic ballroom in which he sat. The high walls were a soft golden brown, reflecting a bright beautiful light from brass lamps that hung about the large room. Other knives and forks clattered and scraped against delicate china plates as he folded his white cloth napkin gently before wiping his mouth. Across from him sat Angel (1wingedangel, Boy No. 1) who was just finishing up his delicious pork and rice. To Arc's left was his girlfriend Sara (Girl No. 2), another administrator at the forum they all so frequently visited.

It had been Deathspank (the creator of kh-vids, administrator) who had come up with the astonishing idea; for as many people on the kh-vids forum to meet as possible. He had organized this huge event where (if they had the money) forum members could fly out to sunny California and for one week hang out with other members of the growing message board. Coincidentally, 15 girls and 15 boys had shown up to the hosted event - all using money out of their own pockets to fly down and meet each other. It seemed like only the most dedicated members had shown up, and some not so known ones appeared on the scene as well.

Deathspank sat to the left of Arc. He had barely touched his cooked meal as he was deep in conversation with Boris the Blade (Boy No. 6). Boris had turned up out of the blue (to the dismay of some) after he had been banned from the forum. Seeing as he was out in California, and had obviously paid a large sum to come here, he was welcomed to the members only party - after all, they couldn't just send him back the way he came. The table Arc sat at seemed to be full of staff members from the website. Sora (Sora, Boy No. 13) was sitting next to Angel and was looking around at some of the other members who had shown up for the festivities. Their table was one of many which hosted about 6 people. Deathspank had done a grand job - the tables were nice, the china, cutlery and waiters were all perfect, it really was more than Arc deserved. But he decided that while he was on vacation he would enjoy it as much as possible.

Looking across the room, he saw a table that sat all girls. He was only able to see the back of Yukai (Girl No. 14) who was deep in conversation with Claryssa (Girl No. 9) and Mish (Girl No. 10). It looked like they were done with their meals, as the hushed conversation was fast and low spoken. Roxas-chan (Girl No. 1) and Riku (Girl No. 8) were holding a whispered conversation as well. 'Girls will be girls,' though Arc, giving off a slight smile. He followed their eyes to a table that sat only two people.

The Indian one, Xehsin (Boy No. 4) sat talking to Cin (Boy No. 2). They seemed to be close friends on the forum, and it was for sure that they were both into this entire GFX signature making stuff (which Arc knew nothing about). Xehsin was a member with a hazy past but was now a mod and did his job well. Cin was the designated 'Site Helper' who always seemed really attached to the staff members. Arc knew that he wanted to become a staff member one day, and it would probably come true at the rate he was going. It seemed as if the two had finished their meals and were simply chatting. He had no clue what they were talking about, but it may have had to do with conflict with another member, Roxas (Boy No. 11).

Roxas, with long blonde hair, long baggy jeans, a baggy blink 182 T-Shirt and lots of wristbands didn't look like he belonged there. Everyone else had dressed up for the nice occasion, but he just seemed to stroll around in his casual, messy clothes as if nothing was wrong. He was currently laughing loudly at something another forum member had said. For all Arc knew; it could have been anything. Roxas was quite the playful jokester, who, for some reason, liked to have fun taking the mickey out of some of the helpful moderators. He still managed to cling onto his probation though, and Arc had no real problem with him.

Sitting next to him was Vivi (vivi's dark side, Boy No. 8) who was grinning about something that Arc couldn't here. Vivi was the easy-going forum member that always followed the rules but wasn't afraid to loosely abode them either. He was heavily into the anime Naruto, and his profile was littered with various allusions to the show. Roxas and he shared similar tastes in music, which may have led them to become quick friends on the forum. They both played guitar too, but Arc was unable to figure out what truly brought them so close.

Roxas and Vivi were talking mostly to themselves, but General Grievous (Boy No. 3) and Darkwatch (Boy No. 9) also sat with them. The two were talking in a casual tone, not whispering or bombastic, and seemed to be enjoying themselves on this rare occasion. Next to them was Shiomi (Boy No. 10) who was busy eating his meal. Shiomi filled out the table, which seemed to be enjoying itself as a whole.

"Ahem," Arc looked to his left to see that Deathspank had stood up and was addressing the whole banquet hall.

"Hello, everyone," he said. Ris (Roxasishot, Girl No. 3) and MistyMighty82 (Girl No. 5) cheered at this. Although it was loud and unneeded, Deathspank laughed at their jubilancy.

"I'd like to start by saying welcome to all you forum members who were able to come. Thanks for making this possible," he said. At this point all eyes were glued on him. Arc found himself looking at Deathspank too; who seemed to have a commanding voice that would echo throughout the great room.

"We started out as a small forum. On my first day I only had a handful of new members, two of which are here," he then pointed at Roxas and Riku. "Others soon joined," he pointed at Sora. "And now our forum has become what it is today."

Some kids clapped and cheered. 'I don't think the clapping and cheering is actually necessary,' thought Arc. The voice in his head said it comically as Arc was enjoying every moment of the party.

Deathspank continued, "My website and the forum has had its ups and downs, but seeming as we're all together and united - let's make this the best week of our lives!"

Arc clapped along with everyone else as Deathspank sat back down in his leather coated chair. Arc turned to him with a grin.

"Nice speech," he said.

"Thanks Arc," said Deathspank. "Well, I really have to go to the bathroom so I'll be right back." Arc watched as Deathspank rose and walked across the carpeted floor, which was smothered with multi-color diamond and triangle patterns; each which were either an olive green or gold.

"Arc, this is something I would never have expected to happen," said Sara. Arc turned to face her as he heard her voice. Sara was smiling - she was truly happy. "Seeing so many members," she continued, "It seems like a surreal dream. I guess we should enjoy this vacation as much as we can."

Arc replied, "Yeah, this is great. I also can't believe that we're here either. It's going to be awesome talking to all the other dedicated members for the first time."

A loud splintering sound came from across the hall. The size of the room magnified the sound and Arc looked to see Xekvin (Boy No. 15) staring at a shattered plate in front of his feet. Xekvin looked up to see the rest of the forum members staring at him.

"Oops."

Everyone cracked up as two waiters cleaned up the mess. Arc decided he would take this time to have everyone introduce themselves.

Standing up, he began, "Hey everyone. I'm Arc, and I'm sure I don't need to introduce myself. I was wondering if anyone else would like to give a more formal introduction."

The first to raise their hand was Misty. She was wildly smiling as she stood up to introduce herself. "Well, hey, guys. I'm a mod at kh-vids… uh, and you all know me as MistyMighty82. I'm really glad to be here and really excited too. I'm sure we'll all get to know each other a little more over this next week, and it'll bring the forum closer together. Um… go Macleods!"

A few other members cheered at the sound of this.

Arc stood up, "Would anyone else like to introduce themselves?"

Ris was next to go. "Hey everyone, I'm the Roxasishot girl who you all know. I'm also the biggest Roxas fan girl in this room."

_Screech!_

Across the room, Kairi (Kairi', Girl No. 4) was standing and looking straight at Ris.

"You're wrong," she said. "I'm the biggest Roxas fan girl."

"And who are you?" asked Arc.

"I'm Kairi, nice to meet everyone!" She then waved her arms frantically before pointing them in Ris's direction. "Now, let me get it through to you Ris, I am the biggest Roxas fan girl in this room!" she exclaimed.

"None of you are!" this time it was KHAngel (Girl No. 12) standing. "I am the biggest Roxas fan girl!"

Ris replied, "You all know I'm the best, you're just jealous!"

"Jealous!" screamed KHAngel, "Who would be jealous of you?"

"Look who's talking!" said Kairi.

"I'm glad my name is Roxas. This makes me feel special," commented Roxas out of nowhere.

"Enough!" said Arc, almost doubling over with laughter. "The battle of the fan girls will begin after the banquet, deal?" The three nodded firmly in agreement. 'They're a little… too serious,' thought Arc. 'I mean come on; he's a CG video game character for Christ sakes!'

When Arc asked for any more introductions, no one said anything. Everyone must have been acquainted with each other just before the banquet started.

He sat down and looked across the table to see Angel and Sora with their eyes closed. Their chins were resting on their shoulders and their mouths were half open.

"Guys?" he asked. They made no response.

"Are you guys asleep?"

Yet again, there was no response. Arc looked to his left to see Boris with his head on the oak table, breathing gently. Sara was doing the same. Then Arc began to feel drowsy as well. An inescapable haziness overwhelmed him, swallowing him like a thick curtain. All zeal he once felt was veiled behind dark gray fog and his mind was swimming. His brain was commanding his blue eyes to close. Arc noticed that other members of the forum were succumbing to sleep too, or were spiraling dangerously towards it. A misty wall flattened all his remaining senses, and with one small nod he was fast asleep.

The bald waiters who had been serving food entered the banquet hall. They were all wearing gas masks. The one who had cleaned up Xekvin's shattered plate looked at them with pity. Deathspank also entered and looked upon them with contempt.

Their bodies were collected and loaded onto a bus. The bus took them to the California International Airport, which then flew them across the country to the Detroit Metro Airport. From here they were taken by another bus to Mackinac City, located at the top of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Their unconscious bodies were hauled onto a boat which made a 27 minute trip to Mackinac Island. At this point, there was no hope for the poor souls as they landed on the docks of the once populated land mass. It was night; a dark black night, and one which perfectly suited their arrival.

**30 students remaining**


	3. 2

**2**

Roxas moaned and shuffled his large feet. The floor was hard - not nicely carpeted like before. He looked down to see glazed wooden beams laid in perfect patterns. The room he was in was covered with complete darkness. It was much, much smaller than the banquet hall he had been in only 5 minutes ago.

'Wait,' he thought. 'Was it 5 minutes, a half an hour or maybe a whole hour?' Looking round the room, he observed no clocks. He observed some other things though. He was sitting in a classroom that was littered with various wooden desks. Other forum members were slumped in these desks, some were sitting against the gray wall and others were lying on the cold floor. The distinction between Roxas and the rest of them was that they were all sleeping soundly. A large black board covered a wall near the small doorway (there was only a single door in and out) and looking up Roxas saw dingy lights hanging from the black ceiling. They were turned off, of course, but he still knew what they were.

Someone groaned, and Roxas looked around to see the rest of his fellow members slowly waking up. Some yawned and others stretched. Something in that banquet hall had happened; they hadn't magically appeared here out of the thin air.

A feeling of claustrophobia fell over Roxas as he felt clamminess around his neck. Reaching up, his hands clasped some sort of cold necklace or collar. It was made of thin metal, and as he felt around it there seemed to be no way to take it off. The metal was cold, and chilled his neck to a point of annoyance.

"Where are we?" asked Da Freak (Boy No. 12). Others also asked their own questions as they awoke.

"_What's going on?"_

"_Why is it so dark?"_

"_Can you see me in here?"_

"_Where's my new handbag?"_

Roxas was the only one who heard the noise through the chatter, but it was a small fluttering of wings - almost like propellers. The propellers were moving rapidly, and Roxas couldn't exactly place his finger on what the sound was. A light appeared, dimmed by the curtains at the windows. The other students then noticed the noise and looked over to see what it was.

Reien (Girl No. 6) made the foolish move of pulling open the cotton curtains. Bright light streamed into the room and everyone momentarily lost their vision. The noise was ever louder, and as vision was regained people squinted through the brightness to see a helicopter touching down outside. Several men ran up to the helicopter door and opened it. Out walked a very familiar face, although Roxas couldn't tell who through the billowing dust cloud brought on by the helicopter's blades.

_Clomp, clomp, clomp._

The feet made noises as if they were wearing steel boots.

A steady marching was coming from outside the dark room. Everybody turned to face the small doorway across from them. The marching suddenly stopped and Roxas heard a faint, "You first."

The door slammed open and Deathspank, followed by several armed soldiers, walked into the room. They turned on the lights, and everyone had their first view of their surroundings. The members were indeed in a classroom - it wasn't a modern day room, either. Everything had an antique look to it and seemed generally old fashioned. There were no computers or massive file cabinets that you would see in a general classroom today. The only sign of modern day life was a 22" television, connected to a VCR and sitting on a stand in the corner of the room (which Roxas could immediately tell had been placed there from the beginning).

Deathspank stopped behind the large oak desk at the front of the room. Two soldiers, armed with automatic machine guns, stood at his side. Other soldiers filed into the classroom and spread out, surrounding the forum members until there were about 20 of them spanning the walls in total.

"Hello," said Deathspank. "I'm sure you're wondering what's going on and I'll be able to explain it in a few minutes. First off, let me just show you something." At this point he turned around to face the black board. He picked up some white chalk and began to write on the board, dust particles flying in his wake. Roxas turned to look behind him. Boris was sitting on the flat portion of the desk, looking straight at Deathspank while tapping his foot. He looked very casual compared to his fellow forum members. Arc was in front of him, holding Sara's hand and shivering. Other members were shivering like Arc, and Roxas realized it was quite cold - he even had goose bumps.

"Do you know this?"

Roxas refocused his thoughts on Deathspank and ignored the cold.

On the board was the word 'genocide'. Nobody said anything, and he repeated the question:

"Do you know this?"

"Um," muttered zSoraz (Boy No. 14), "Isn't genocide like a disease or an STD or something?"

"Exactly," replied Deathspank. "Although you could have said it more formally, that is exactly what it is." Then Deathspank slammed the chalk on the word genocide, causing everyone to jump. A look of anger filled his eyes.

"You're exactly wrong!" he shouted. zSoraz was shocked at the sudden outburst. "This is what the government means. Genocide is the mass execution of a group of peoples. But you, 14 to 24 year olds, can not even understand such a simple thing? That is why the government has ordered the eradication of all un-orderly youths. All you do is sit in front of the computer all day, chatting away mindlessly! You should be worrying about your educations! But the beautiful U.S. of A. government has decided something needs to be done!" He said the final line so spitefully that some students jumped. A vein throbbed in his temple and his eyes were narrowed.

"E-Eradication?" stuttered Sora.

"Eradication is precisely what I said," said Deathspank. "It's not my fault that this is going to happen. It's all your faults for being so simply foolish and wasting away in front of the computer, getting fatter and fatter and stupider and stupider. Ever here of a sport? A god damn after-school club? That's why the lovely government is placing you in this test game."

"But what is going to happen?" said Arc. He, along with Sara, all the staff and just about everyone in the room (not including Boris) looked scared.

"Oh, yes, of course, I better explain what's going on," began Deathspank. "It would be cruel and unfair for me to simply leave you wondering what is going to happen, especially when you're in the situation you're in."

He left this last line hanging - clearly to be ironic. No one found it funny.

Mish interrupted, "Deathspank, cut to the chase… what the hell is going on?!"

Deathspank frowned and stared at her for a few seconds. Mish stared back, but there was something about Deathspank's cold demeanor that forced her to look away.

"Since you really have to know 'what the hell is going on', I'll tell you."

He paused.

"Today's forum thread - you will all kill each other till one is remaining."

**30 members remaining**


	4. 3

**3**

Everyone stood gaping at their 'administrator'. A fly twittered in the back of the room, making a sounder louder than what would normally be heard. A broken light flickered and buzzed above the forum members' heads.

"Kill?" said Angel.

"Do I have to explain it any more than I just did?" smiled Deathspank. "How much info do you stupid kids need before you realize that when I say 'you will all kill each other till one is remaining' I mean it?"

"How are we stupid? You march in with a bunch of soldiers and then tell us we have to kill each other till one is left. Isn't it _normal_ that we would ask questions about what the hell is going on?" asked General Grievous (Boy No. 3).

"This is a joke, right?" asked Misty, not waiting for the answer to General's question.

"Some sort of fun thing we're doing while we're all on vacation?" Some other kids nervously agreed.

Arc stared at Deathspank with a cold eye. He knew that he was serious; he'd already heard rumors of the government planning to wipe out 'uncouth juveniles'. But he had never thought he would have fallen under that category.

"It's no joke, I hate jokes," said Deathspank. "If anything is a joke-"

_Brr-rr-Brt!_

Deathspank turned to look at Da Freak, who was standing between a crossfire of stares, trying to look serious. Everyone around him immediately pulled their shirts up around their noses.

"Oh my god, that smells like crap Da Freak!" exclaimed Xekvin, among many of the various insults that were sent in his direction.

"Did you seriously just fart?" asked Deathspank.

"Um… maybe?" said Da Freak nervously.

Deathspank looked as if he was going to explode before throwing up his arms and screaming.

"That will not be tolerated!" exclaimed Deathspank. His arm moved like a whip to his back pocket. It then shot up within seconds of moving back. Arc watched as a small silver object shot across the room. It stabbed into the wall not a centimeter away from the side of Da Freak's head.

"Oh my god!" screamed Da Freak, running away.

A small, silver knife was stuck into the wall. It had just barely missed Da Freak's head. If he was anything right now then it was lucky. Deathspank slowly walked out from behind the glossy oak desk and swiftly moved towards the wall. He grabbed the handle of the knife and pulled it out of the wall, turning towards Da Freak. Da Freak gasped and hunched his shoulders, putting up his hands in a defensive position.

Pointing the knife at Da Freak with every syllable, Deathspank said, "Like I said, immature behavior like that will not be tolerated again. If anything like that happens one more time, this goes through your head and not the wall."

Da Freak winced as Deathspank made his way back to the desk.

"Anyway," he began. "Let's get to business, and quickly too. Just watch this video and you'll understand everything."

Deathspank picked up a small remote and pointed at the television in the musty corner of the room. He clicked at once, and the screen flickered to life. There was a woman on the screen who had pigtails. She was quite beautiful, with blonde hair and a skimpy skirt and long sleeved shirt. Arc looked around to notice all the girls in the room were wearing the exact same clothes - a short black skirt, black shoes and a long-sleeved white top. The boys were all wearing white polo shirts and black jeans along with the same black shoes. The same feeling of claustrophobia came over Arc then as it had Roxas not minutes ago; he looked at Sara' neck to see a metal collar. It circled the entire circumference of her neck and there was a small black area on the front that looked like an LCD screen, but nothing was displayed. Reaching up, he realized the same collar was around his neck, and just about everybody else's in the room (the only ones not wearing collars were Deathspank and the soldiers). Nudging Sara with his elbow, he grabbed his collar. He pointed at it to let her know it was there, and then she reached her hands up to her neck and gave him a look of terror and surprise when she felt her own.

The girl with the blonde pigtails and skimpy outfit was smiling at the forum members via live broadcast on the television screen.

"Hello, KH-Vids Forum members!" she exclaimed, just a little too happily. "My name is Sammy Dwyer, and I'll be helping you learn the ups and downs of this game, so you can fight with strength and gusto!" She pumped her fist and gave a huge smile when she said this, showing off her bright, sparkling white teeth. The over zealous woman was as irritating as an itch on your back that you're unable to reach. She had a whiney voice and was way too happy. Imagine a kindergarten teacher. Now imagine a hot kindergarten teacher. Sammy Dwyer was like that.

"I'm sure you're all wondering where we are and all, especially since it's the middle of the night!" she gave a big smile and spread her arms. Behind Sammy appeared a satellite view of what seemed to be an island. It was dark, as it was night (as she had just said), but Arc noticed old city streets and a large fortress. 'It's probably one of those ones left over from the American-Indian War or something,' he thought.

Sammy continued, "We're all currently on this island! Don't worry, we evacuated all the people - it's completely deserted. Not to say you won't find the occasional animal, of course, but there will be no people except us here and you out there."

'But where exactly was '_there_',' thought Arc.

Sammy wasn't able to continue before Roxas interrupted her live broadcast.

"So this is where you decide to put us?" he said with his eyes closed, leaning against the wall with his arms folded "Mackinac Island?"

Deathspank was slumped against the desk with his arms crossed, but slowly turned to face Roxas as he said this.

"Yes," replied Deathspank. "The official name of this island is Mackinac Island. It has a huge historical importance, so please don't try to go road rage and destroy everything you see."

"Well," said Roxas, "Don't you think it's unfair for these kids? I've been to Mackinac Island more than 5 times before. I'll know all the nooks and crannies of the island. If this isn't all a joke, then I'll be able to kill everyone easily."

Deathspank pulled up his shirt to reveal a Colt .369 pistol, aiming it at Roxas.

"Well maybe I should just kill you now to even the odds?" he asked. Roxas was staring at the barrel of the gun that wasn't even 10 yards away from him.

He put his hands out and made a backing off motion, "Wow, man, I didn't mean it like that or anything, um, boy pride, y'know?"

"Of course," said Deathspank. "Boy pride."

He returned the pistol to its holster and said to the members, "Back to the video."

All heads turned to the television and Sammy continued:

"Like I said," spoke Sammy Dwyer, "You're all on your own on this island, it's completely deserted. You can't escape by water either. We have 12 guard ships all positioned half a kilometer away from each other around the island. They have the order to shoot to kill. The island itself is about 6 kilometers lengthwise and 3 kilometers tall, if you were looking at it from above. But there's another reason why you can't escape by water."

'Another _reason?_' thought Arc. 'What's next, we all have to wear funny hats?'

"Now, about the collars you're wearing."

As Sammy said this, most forum members who hadn't yet noticed they were wearing collars reached up to their necks and felt them. There were some gasps in the crowd and one kid moaned - he may have been claustrophobic. Arc and Sara just looked at each other, and the T.V. - which showed a picture of the exact collar they were wearing located behind Sammy. It was spinning slowly as she explained the various uses the collar had:

"These collars can track your positions. We'll know where you are at all times. But they can do some other cool stuff. Let's say you try to escape. We can send a signal to your collar. The electromagnetic waves can't be stopped either, so hiding in a well won't do you any good. The waves then trigger the collar, which starts to beep… and BOOM!"

When she said this, Darkwatch (Boy No. 9) shouted, "No way?!"

"Calm down, kid," said Deathspank. "These collars are explosively lethal. The force of the explosion will be just enough to rip your jugular, but usually you'll get your head blown off. You'll die an extremely painful death. There are a few more rules to the collars, which I'll explain."

He continued, "Every day - four times a day - at 12 and 6, AM and PM, I will announce two things. The first is the people who have died since the last announcement. We know this because the collars also track you pulse, indicating whether you're alive… or not. The second are the 'Danger Zones.'"

He paused for some sort of dramatic effect, which didn't go down too well with the scared members.

'Danger zones - I'm sure they're completely harmless,' thought Arc sarcastically.

Another voice in his head said, "You idiot! This isn't the time to be making jokes!"

He ignored it as Deathspank continued his lecture on danger zones:

"The island has been divided up into grids," at this point Deathspank drew a shape that looked vaguely like Mackinac Island on the board. He then put lines through it in a grid like pattern. He labeled the grid by writing A, B, C, D, etc. vertically down the side to the left of the island, and 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. horizontally above it.

"When I announce the Danger Zones, I will say something like 'C-3.'" He knocked the C-3 square on the board. "This becomes a Danger Zone. If you are in a Danger Zone at the time it becomes one, then your collar will explode."

He let his final sentence hang over the room.

"Walking into a Danger Zone after it has become one will also mean instant death," he added with a grin.

'That's right,' thought Arc, 'Treat us like cattle. Forcing us to move around like that, huh? Then we won't stay in groups - or maybe even move right into the trap of someone willing to play this game.'

Then a thought occurred to Arc:

_Who was willing to play this game?_

He observed his fellow forum members. It was obvious he could never really trust any of them as he had never met any of them (bar Sara) in real life. But judging by their personalities…

There was Boris the Blade, and he definitely had distaste for the forum. He might play the game. Then there was Cin. Arc was almost positive that he wouldn't play. Most of the girls would probably avoid playing too. Roxas was one who might play; he had been to this place before. It gave him a slight advantage over some of the other forum members.

Then there were all his fellow staff members…

'Stop,' thought Arc, halting the whirlwind of thoughts in his head. 'They want me to think like this. I'm falling into the government's trap. I'm sure if we got enough people together, a big enough group, then we could somehow break in here and destroy this horrible game.'

"By the way," said Deathspank, "Once you leave this school, it will immediately become a danger zone."

'Crap,' thought Arc. 'That just stole our last wild card.'

"Seeming as I've told you all you need to know about the collars, lets get back to the video," said Deathspank. All heads turned towards Sammy.

"So, um, that is exactly what the collars will do," said Sammy. "Another thing - if you try to rip the collar off, it'll also explode. Anything to try and get these collars off will instead have your head blown off." A few kids took their hands away from their necks.

"Now," she smiled brightly, "What are you going to fight with?" She bent over and lifted up a bag. The camera backed up to reveal a table, which she placed the green burlap bag on. It seemed odd; things were jutting out of it at random places.

"You each get a day pack, which has several items in it. First is food and water (she pulled out bread and three bottles of water), which I'm sure you'll all use sparingly! Second you'll get a map, pen, and compass that will be especially helpful on your travels around the island. Just like Deathspank drew, the map is labeled with an A-1, A-2, B-1 style format. There are important objects, such as the Clinic and Mackinac Fort labeled on the map too, so you should know where you are at all times. And lastly is your weapon (she pulled a small knife out of the bag). Each weapon is totally random! That way, the boys won't have an advantage over the girls or vice versa. Looks like I got a knife in this one!"

'So this is it,' thought Arc. 'This is no horrible joke. It's all real; they're really going to have us kill each other. But how… how could I kill someone? I've never shot a gun in my life… but I may have to… to protect Sara.'

"I forgot to mention one slight detail," said Deathspank. "If no one dies for 24 hours, then guess what? All of your collars will explode."

Arc could have sworn he heard the word 'dammit' from the back of the classroom, but he was too stunned at Deathspank's words to even care. This was all real, and they would make sure someone would kill. It's all too obvious. Even if everyone got in a big group, if they weren't able to do anything for 24 hours one person would crack and start killing others. It made it all too impossible to escape.

"And that's not the last collar rule," said Deathspank. "There's a 3 day time limit. If one person isn't left after 3 days then everyone's collar will explode."

Arc's eye twitched. Anger boiled from his stomach, rising up to his mouth. He wanted to scream at Deathspank, torture him, kill him in the most horrible and unruly ways. This game was happening, and only one could live.

If there was one presiding emotion then it would be terror. They'd dropped the final bomb. Everyone in here knew that they would die sometime in the next 72 hours. Everyone was anxiously looking around, looking to see who would actually play the game.

And that's when someone took a valiant stand.

"I hate you!" screamed Live Forever (liveforever552, Girl No. 15). She charged at Deathspank, her hair flailing behind her. As she jumped up on the desk which he stood behind two soldiers pushed her to the floor. She landed on her back which made a sick crunching sound.

Deathspank walked up to her with a small remote. "You know," he said, "You should really learn to take anger management. Stuff like that could get you killed in some places."

And then Deathspank gave the most horrible grin Arc had ever seen. Deathspank's teeth were bared, his nostrils were like slits, and his eyes narrowed at Live Forever.

"_This is one of those places."_

He hit a button on the remote. Live Forever's collar gave off a small beep, followed by another small beep.

She immediately got up. "What's happening?!?" she screamed.

Arc observed the collar. With each beeping noise, a small red light flashed on the LCD screen. The beeps were getting faster, building in tempo, and the red light kept up in speed with it.

"Someone help me!" she screamed. She was running around the room frantically, screaming swear words.

"Someone stop this!" she said as she ran into various members, who simply pushed her away from them. Arc looked away as he realized there was nothing they could do. At this point the beeping was so fast he couldn't count it.

Someone shrieked as the beeping momentarily stopped.

Without warning the beep turned into one long continuous ring, and the LCD panel on the collar lit up red. Live Forever screamed as loud as she could and charged at Deathspank. She jumped up on the desk; put her foot back to kick him in the head, and the collar exploded.

**29 members remaining**


	5. 4

**4**

Arc had already turned away before the collar exploded, but he heard something large crash to the floor, followed by the splattering sound of liquid. He was too afraid to open his eyes, too afraid to sniff the air that had been tainted with the very crimson of someone he had been standing nearby just a few seconds ago. Someone gagged in the back of the room, and he heard the sound of vomit splashing against the floor. A girl screamed and several people ran to the back of the room. The shuffling of feet seemed distant - the shock of Live Forever's death was just too much. Arc heard the sound of liquid steadily pouring onto the hard wood floor.

"Well that's not good," said Deathspank. "I'm not allowed to kill before the game has even started yet. Oh well."

With the explosion of Live Forever's collar, the game had officially begun.

"So," began Deathspank, "seeing as a girl has died, it kinda makes it unfair doesn't it? There are more boys than girls…" Several soldiers ran into the room and grabbed the chunk of Live Forever's head that was leaking blood on the other end of the room. They stuffed it into a black bag and exited the room.

Deathspank took the pistol out from its holster and pointed it once again at Roxas.

"You wanted to die, didn't you?" he said.

Roxas glared at him. Then he charged. His footsteps echoed loudly in the cramped room as he sprinted towards Deathspank's strong figure.

"I'm gonna kill you, you bastard!"

Arc watched as a figure leaped across the room and stopped in front of Roxas. It was Cin, and he put his arms in front of Roxas. Roxas screeched to a halt before knocking Cin to the ground.

"He'll kill you too," Cin said.

Roxas replied, "I won't let him get away with this."

"He'll kill you," repeated Cin. Roxas' facial expression changed to dismay and then to understanding as he stared at Cin.

"He just killed her," he said.

"He may have killed her," began Cin, "but he hasn't killed you. Don't let him do that, Roxas. Don't give him an excuse to kill someone else."

Cin grabbed Roxas's arm and pulled him away. The two walked to the back of the room.

Roxas turned and glared at Deathspank one more time.

"Well," said Deathspank, "Unless any girl objects, I won't kill a boy."

No one objected.

"Now please, watch the video," he yawned, as if all the blood and destruction were boring him.

Sammy Dwyer continued, "I'm going to call your names one by one, every two minutes. You'll then grab a daypack off the rack and head outside. We're in a school, which is marked on the grid in the map you will all receive in your bags. Twenty minutes after the last person leaves the school it becomes a danger zone. So no loitering!"

At this point, the small door opened and several soldiers walked in with a wheelie cart. It was loaded with the same daypacks that were in the video. They stopped near the doorway and stood with their arms at their sides on either side of the cart.

"Angel, Boy No. 1," said Sammy. Angel didn't move.

"On the double!" shouted Deathspank. Angel slowly made his way to the front of the classroom. Everyone watched him as he grabbed a daypack off the top of the big pile. His last move was to turn back and look at all of them. His face was completely white. He gave a slight smile and then he ran off out the doorway.

"There goes our first loser," smirked Deathspank.

Two minutes past, and Roxas-chan was called. She strode up to the front of the classroom, her hair bouncing on her shoulders. The large-rimmed glasses she had perched on her nose were off balance. She took a daypack and waved at the group before running down the hall.

"Boy No .2, Cin."

Cin strode to the front of the classroom and grabbed a daypack. He didn't turn around and look at the group, or do anything of the sort. He just simply strode out the door. Arc could see that he was shaking. You'd have to be crazy to not be shaking.

"Girl No. 2, Sara."

Arc looked at Sara. She was completely terrified, and her eyes began to well up with tears.

"Go," he said.

"Arc… I'm scared," she said in a small voice, knowing that there was nothing she could really do.

Arc put his head on her shoulder and whispered to her, "I'll meet up with you Sara, some how, some way."

She nodded ran towards the front of the classroom. Arc felt her hand slip out of his.

_Is this the last time I see you, Sara?_

Sara looked back at him once before she left the room. He could have sworn she gave him the faintest smile, but it was probably his imagination playing tricks on him.

"Boy No. 3, General Grievous."

Grievous walked to the front of the room, his short black hair spiked in all directions. He definitely had a good chance; he looked well built and fit. Giving a small wave, he grabbed a green bag and sprinted out the door. Arc heard his footsteps get farther and farther away as he ran out of the school.

"Girl No. 3, Roxasishot."

Ris was definitely a small girl, one who currently had her brown hair bundled in a pony tail. She staggered to the front of the room and grabbed a daypack. Small tears were dripping from her eyes, and she did a good job to not let anyone see them.

"Come on girl, don't cry," said Deathspank. "You never know - games can be fun."

Unfortunately, she didn't do a very good job hiding them from Deathspank.

Arc sighed at the horrible comment. He never knew someone could be so cruel.

Ris ran out of the room with her bag on her shoulder. Just like Grievous, her footsteps slowly faded away as she ran away from the cramped classroom. Two minutes dragged past.

"Boy No. 4, Xehsin."

Xehsin moved his arms widely as he strode to the front of the classroom. He seemed to be trying to act cool - which was a foolish mistake. Anybody could tell he was scared stiff. Anybody could tell because 'anybody' was in the same boat. 'Anybody' was on an island forced to kill each other till one was left. 'Anybody' was the forum members.

Xehsin grabbed the bag and turned to look at the group.

"Let me tell you all one thing," he said. "If you think any of us are going to play, then you've already lost."

When Arc first heard this, he thought that Xehsin was talking to the soldiers and Deathspank - telling them we weren't going to play. But then he realized Xehsin was talking to the forum. He was right, if you think others are going to play then you've already fallen into the government's trap. Playing the game would be ridiculous - no one would do it. Xehsin made the right choice in telling everyone this before he exited the room. Arc only hoped that the other members would catch on to what he was saying.

The ticking clock in the back of the room counted to 120, and the next name was called.

"Girl No. 4, Kairi."

"Here!" she shouted, raising her hand. Then she half ran, half stumbled to the front of the room and grabbed a bag. She took off at lightning speed and Arc heard her trip and fall before getting up to carry on with her mad dash.

"Boy No. 5, FF Fanatic."

Fanatic trembled as he grabbed his bag.

"Don't be so scared!" said Deathspank. "If everyone listens to Xehsin then no one will play. That just means you'll have to wait for 24 hours before your head gets blown off!"

'_Dammit_,' thought Arc. 'He knows that under the pressure of the 24 hour limit, someone will end up killing. This is as much a _psychological_ game as it is _physical strength_!'

"Girl No. 5, MistyMighty82."

Misty walked up to the front, trying to pull her skirt down. She looked extremely uncomfortable. Grabbing a bag she ran from the classroom; just as many before her had also done.

"Boy No. 6, Boris the Blade."

'So Boris is number 6…' thought Arc. Boris, with a muscular build and dark blue hair, spat on the floor before walking up and grabbing a bag.

He turned to Deathspank, "Thanks a lot."

He had a deep voice. Then he casually walked out the door. Arc wasn't paying attention as Reien (Girl No. 6) was called and walked up to get her bag. He didn't care if he was falling into the government's trap - Boris looked like he was here to play. Boris was boy number 6, which meant Boy No. 7 was coming out soon. But which number was he?

"Boy No. 7, Arc."

Arc looked up at the sound of his name, and then realized he was being called. His legs felt like jelly as he walked up to grab a bag. The handle was nice and soft, and the green bag was made of burlap. Looking back at his classmates, he shook his head with a straight mouth. Only 3 yards away was the face up body of Live Forever. The foul stench of blood hit his nostrils like a wall as he looked at the young girl. A pool of red liquid spilled from the gaping hole in her face, running onto the smooth wooden floorboards before gathering in a small puddle. Skin flapped off the sides of the collar wound and he could see pearly bone jutting from the top of her forehead. Her face tipped backwards towards the remaining forum members, and her mouth was in an 'O' shape as if the shock of the collar had blown it open. Blood dripped from her open eyes and nostrils, and her neck was torn straight at the windpipe. Wanting to get away from the horrible sight, he turned and left.

The hallway he was in was deserted, and he began to walk towards the door at the far end. There were doors to his left and right, and looking inside them he saw soldiers sitting at desks and chairs. They were all heavily armed. Another room gave him a view of several computers and other assorted high-tech equipment. A radar portrayed various red dots on what looked like a map of the island. The radar stretched the entire section of a wall, and each red dot had a number in it. He could see dots of people numbers one through six moving away from the school, and in the square marked 'school' was his number, seven. In one section of the square were a bunch of numbers and red dots grouped together - presumably the other members who had yet to leave.

Arc turned and continued to walk through the school's hallway. Another room showed him several girls sitting on a bed together. 'Wonder what's going on in there,' he thought.

Not stopping, he reached the door to the outdoors relatively quickly. As soon as he stepped out of the door, the game would begin. Someone could be there with a gun right now. And this wasn't a silly video game. He couldn't collect coins to have more lives. He couldn't level up to the next level and regain all his strength. No… this was a different type of game.

He opened the door and entered the Royale.

"_Life is a game. So fight for survival, and see if you're worth it."_

**29 members remaining**


End file.
